"When you win the Cy Young Award, it ordinarily is considered a blessing.

For Zack Greinke, however, it has become something of a curse.

As Greinke tries to find his way with the Milwaukee Brewers, his 2009 season continues to cast a long shadow over him. Not because it was a tough year for the 27-year-old right-hander. To the contrary, he was about as good as it gets.

And therein lies the rub. Once you've been that dominant, people expect you to do it again.

"A lot of people have different expectations," said Greinke, acquired in a blockbuster trade with Kansas City just before Christmas.

"Some people probably expect a lot; some people probably don't expect much. Everyone thinks differently."

Suffice it to say that many residents of Brewer Nation expected more than this. It's not that Greinke's 7-3 record has been disappointing, though generous run support has been a significant factor. And the Brewers certainly aren't going to quibble with their 8-3 mark in his 11 starts since coming off the disabled list in early May.

But Greinke hasn't been Cy Young good. He hasn't approached the level of performance he displayed in '09, when he went 16-8 with a 2.16 earned run average, with 242 strikeouts in 229 1/3 innings, allowing only 195 hits and 51 walks.

Thus far with the Brewers, Greinke has looked more like the pitcher who fell back considerably in 2010, posting a 10-14 record and 4.17 ERA in 33 starts for the Royals.

"Once you're a Cy Young Award winner, I think that people think you're capable of doing that every year," said manager Ron Roenicke. "I don't think that's necessarily fair."